Turvey praises NIO’s progress after maiden Formula E podium

Oliver Turvey says his maiden Formula E podium at the Mexico E-Prix is vindication of a significant performance step from the NIO squad.

Oliver Turvey says his maiden Formula E podium at the Mexico E-Prix is vindication of a significant performance step from the NIO squad.

Turvey qualified fourth but started from the front-row start after Alex Lynn’s gearbox-related grid drop had been applied and Andretti’s Antonio Felix da Costa had his superpole time removed for having an underweight car.

The Briton made a solid start and shadowed Felix Rosenqvist in the early stages, before he was promoted into the lead when Rosenqvist suffered a car issue which caused his Mahindra to stop on track.

Turvey, who was denied a potential victory at last year’s race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriquez following a loss of power, was leapfrogged by Daniel Abt’s Audi during the pit stop phase but held off the advances of Sebastien Buemi to claim second place and his first podium in the all-electric series.

“I am absolutely delighted to score mine and team’s first podium finish,” Turvey said. “Everyone in the team has worked so hard since last season to gain a huge step forward in performance and we’ve not been able to show this due to a few tough races.”

It marked the rebranded NIO squad’s first podium in Formula E since it won the drivers' title with Nelson Piquet Jr. in 2014/15, when the team was under its former Team China Racing guise.

“What a rollercoaster of a day for the NIO Formula E Team here in Mexico,” NIO team principal Gerry Hughes added. “To come away with a second place after such a thrilling race, which had everyone on the edge of their seats throughout, is a fantastic result for both Oliver and the rest of the team.

“Upon taking the lead of the race after Rosenqvist suffered a technical issue, Oliver then led for the remaining portion of the first stint until the pit stops where, unfortunately, he emerged from the pits in second behind Abt's Audi after suffering a slow pull away from the garage.

“However, Oliver drove a solid second stint and managed to resist heavy pressure from Buemi in the closing stages to clinch NIO’s first podium. We must now go away, learn from our experiences in Mexico and bring it to Punta Del Este harder and faster.”